Saturday, January 12, 2013

How a girl was able to die peacefully

A survey conducted by Sunday Times of India
(March 6, 2011) threw up a surprise.Contrary to the perception that young people in India are becoming
disinclined towards spirituality the survey shows that younger people are more
& more becoming interested in spirituality.

A person may be a billionaire, own palatial
bungalows & fleet of cars, and may have all the comforts of this world but
still he may feel hollow from within.

Suppose that we take a fish out of water
& place it in a beautiful golden aquarium which has no water then will it
make the fish happy?Will the fish be
satisfied & satiated just by being in a gold plated aquarium?The answer is ‘NO’.A fish can be happy only in water.

Similarly irrespective of our material
positions and possessions, we will feel deprived of inner fulfillment unless
and until we re-connect ourselves to our true spiritual identity. We need to
understand that we are not this body but we are souls presently in a human
body. As a soul we are sac-cid-ananda i.e. eternal, blissful & full
of knowledge. The nature of the soul is to be in constant association of the
Lord.So, when we endeavor to connect to
the Lord we feel a sense of inner satisfaction & bliss from within.

In an article published in the Reader’s
Digest (‘Searching for the Divine’, Jan 2002) Prof Andrew a neurologist
explains that at peak moments of prayer & meditation a person goes to a
state of complete relaxation and deep satisfaction and experiences a higher reality.

The following story of a Polish girl
illustrates how spirituality can help a person to tolerate a great pain.

The girl was 16 when she discovered that
she has cancer & the cancer had already spread all over her body.The girl was undergoing through tremendous
physical pain but fortunately she had discovered a medicine which would help
her to bear the unbearable pain.She
would find solace & comfort in singing the Hare Krishna kirtan (song).Slowly her condition deteriorated further
& it became impossible for her to even speak.Then she requested her brother to sing the
kirtan for her.Her brother who was
studying in a college used to phone her and sing the kirtan for her everyday
from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. It continued for 2 months.And one fateful night the girl left this world while her brother was
singing the kirtan for her.Her brother
was not aware of this fact.He came to
know about her sister’s death only when his mother picked up the phone and
informed him that his sister is no more.Her death was peaceful. (Reference: travelingmonk.com,
I-never-Cry, Volume 11, Chapter 10, Oct
11, 2010).

The girl was able to withstand the
tremendous physical pain because she was able to connect herself with the
Supreme Lord which enabled her to experience a higher taste and a higher level
of satisfaction which was beyond the body, mind & senses

Spirituality not only purifies our
consciousness but also helps us to understand our real self.So, we should re-spiritualize our lives &
develop a harmonious relationship with the Lord then Krishna’s holy names
become the soothing balm and His words of wisdom helps us to transcend any
pain.